smile spread across Cliff’s face. “Darcy. I had lunch with her yesterday. We kind of dated in high school.” He cleared his throat. “Of course, I’ve got Mona now. I mean, it was just lunch. There she was alone in that big booth—”
“You put moves on her?” Noah stared, surprised. Cliff’s cheeks resembled a red light district. Good old Cliff had been lunching with Noah’s pick of the month? How could that be?
“No! No, nothing like that. Darcy’s more your speed. She…well, kind of got around in high school. Of course, people change….”
Noah perked at the news. Darcy sounded like what he needed—a nice unencumbered relationship. After the disaster with Rebecca, he didn’t think he’d ever want anything else from a woman. “I can work with that.”
With his hands jammed into his pockets, Cliff faced his partner. “Look, are you going to help me, or what?”
Noah pulled his mind from Darcy’s long legs and bountiful curves. He’d rather spend Friday night with her than with a “nice” girl. “Can’t you find someone else?”
“There isn’t anyone else! I wouldn’t have asked you if someone else was available.”
With a frown, Noah scooped the legal pad off the desk. He scanned the page-long list of scratched-off names. “You asked Fred, the mail guy?”
“I told you I was desperate.”
Noah tapped the pad. “My name isn’t even on here.”
Cliff glared at him. “Okay, what will it take? How much?”
“What? You’re bribing me now?” A chuckle rose from Noah’s throat. “No go. You couldn’t pay me enough.”
“Darcy!” Cliff’s eyes widened. He moved toward Noah. “That’s it. You take Sabrina to dinner, then get her to the party. I’ll put in a good word for you with Darcy. I’ll even invite her to the party.”
Visions of Darcy’s full bosom and rounded backside flashed through Noah’s mind. Anticipation raced through him. How bad could one dinner with Cliff’s sister be? Besides, he had lost most of his client base with the move, and Cliff was giving him a chance to rebuild his career. He owed his old roommate.
After another moment’s hesitation, Noah thrust out his hand. “Deal.”
Relief flowed over Cliff’s face. Even his hair seemed to relax. He clasped Noah’s hand. “Deal. You take Sabrina to dinner, then bring her by the house. My flight gets in around ten, but Mona wants you two there at nine sharp. I’ll tell Sabrina Mona’s going to Boca with me and we won’t be back until Sunday. You can say you’re feeding the dog.”
“Dog?” Noah narrowed his gaze. “That German shepherd wannabe who hates men?”
Cliff blinked. “Opal is part shepherd, and she doesn’t hate all men. She’s gotten used to me. She’s just protective of Mona. Anyway, you won’t have to deal with her.”
“Right.” With a nod, Noah moved toward the door.
“Wait.”
Noah stopped, then turned back toward his partner. Cliff paused, staring hard at him. “There’s something else you need to know about Sabrina. She isn’t the kind of woman you’re accustomed to.”
“Right. You already told me. She’s the romantic type. Don’t worry, I’ll take her someplace nice.”
“Good.” Cliff’s jaw bunched. “But that isn’t what I’m getting at.”
Noah drew an impatient breath. “So what are you saying?”
A cool warning slipped into Cliff’s gaze. “I’m saying…she’s a virgin. And I want her to stay that way.”
SABRINA WALKER GROANED. She yanked the wall calendar from its place beside an old fuse box and stared at the big squares representing the days of the week, zeroing in on the upcoming Friday. The thirteenth. This Friday was the thirteenth. What kind of day was that to have a birthday?
“This is a bad omen, Walker,” she murmured to herself. “A very bad omen.” The depression that had hovered over her for months descended. Everyone she knew was engaged or married and working on the second or third child.
Everyone but her.
She plopped into the rickety desk chair she’d picked up secondhand to go with the metal desk she’d inherited when she bought this bookstore four years ago. After a minute of searching through the pile of catalogs and order sheets on her desk, she unearthed the phone. She punched in a number, then waited through three rings.
“Hello?” Bess Anderson, her best friend, answered.
“Life is passing me by, Bess.”
“Sabrina?”
“I know I vowed at sixteen to wait for The One, but I thought I’d find love by now.” Sabrina twisted the phone cord around her finger. “I’m in a rut. I’m sitting here and nothing is going on in my life. There’s no one to greet me at the end of the day.” She swallowed. “No hope of having a child.”
“Aw, Bree…you can borrow one of mine, or how about all three?” One of Bess’s daughters shrieked in the background. “Excuse me a minute.” The phone made a clunking sound, then Bess yelled for her offspring to quiet. “Sorry,” she said as she came back on the line.
Sabrina’s finger purpled. “All I need is a jump start.”
“Tom has this new guy working for him—”
“I’m seriously thinking of going for it—”
“Really? Great, we’ll have you both over—”
“Popping the cork, losing the old cherry—”
“What?”
“Maybe it’s time I lost my virginity. Had a fling. Walked on the wild side.” Sabrina squared her jaw. Saying the words out loud sent a wave of satisfaction coursing through her. She pulled her finger free, shaking the blood back into it.
“Now, hon, who is he? You’re not going to do anything hasty, are you?”
Sabrina laughed. “I’ve been celibate for nearly twenty-five years. What’s hasty about that?”
“You know what I mean. Who is he? Do you love him? Why haven’t—”
“I don’t know who he is, or will be. The way I feel, the next available male I come across might get lucky.”
“Sabrina?” Toby Baxter, a high school student she’d hired to work afternoons, poked his head around the office door. “Could you cover the front? I’ve got to take a leak.”
“Sure, Toby. Just a minute.”
He smiled his thanks, then withdrew.
Grimacing, Sabrina turned back to the phone.
